Anatomy Of An Ultra4/KOH Buggy

If you’re into off-road racing then you probably know the name Shannon Campbell. Even if you’re not into off-road racing, you may still know the name Shannon Campbell. Forty three-year-old Campbell started wheeling in 1992. His first-ever off-road competition was at Top Truck Challenge 1996 where he took First Place. In 1997 he was desert racing in the same Jeep that he drove to win TTC the previous year. From there, his racing career took off and has included winning the incredible King of the Hammers (KOH) twice. Back in 2001 he opened Campbell Enterprises, which continues to this day. His company specializes in everything off-road, including Trophy Trucks, rockcrawlers, trail rigs, short course, Ultra4, and KOH machines.

A few years ago, Campbell rocked the off-road racing world when he built and raced an independent front suspension (IFS) rig at a time when there were no other IFS rigs racing in the Ultra4/KOH series. His follow-up to that rig is the buggy you see here, which is his newest machine. Campbell built the rig over the course of two months and its first race was in the fall of 2012. Like its predecessor, it is equipped with IFS. Campbell says he likes IFS because it offers him the ability to hold high speed and retain drivability. He notes that race buggies with a solid front axle can be “squirrely” in the same situation. Among other things, Campbell’s design goals for this rig included simplicity (package components so they could be easily replaced) and a 50/50 weight balance front to rear. Ultra4/KOH vehicles are unique in that they have to be part rockcrawler and part high-speed desert racer due to the vast array of obstacles and terrain they encounter in the course of an average race.

Campbell estimates that only about 10 percent of the buggies that currently race Ultra4/KOH are IFS-equipped. We think that makes his buggy unique and worth a closer look.

About This Series
This is the third installment of the “Anatomy of a…” series. In this occasional series we’ll take a look at the tech (or lack thereof in some cases) that’s integrated into four-wheel-drive vehicles that we may not normally feature. Some of these vehicles are packed with tech, others may be surprisingly simple, and some may have unique features that are specific to their type of wheeling.